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Typed – Oct. 2014 and re-Formatted – Dec. 2019 by Kanwarjit Singh Grewal - B.C. Canada Please forgive me for any mistakes and Write your Comments on my Website in Contact.
Guru Nanak Dev ji’s Udasis (Travels)
1. The First Udasi : (1500–1505) The First Udasi of Guru Nanak Sahib began approximately in 1500. Guruji visited the eastern and the southern areas of India. During this time Bhai Mardana accompanied him. He was Guruji’s rababi too. During this Udasi Guruji visited the following places:
Sultanpur Lodhi – Syedpura – Tulumba (now Makhdoompur) – via Kurukshetra to Panipat – Delhi – Haridwar – Kedarnath – via Badrinath to Joshimath – Gorakhmata (now Nanakmata) – Lakhimpur – Benaras (now Varanasi) – Gaya – Patna – via Hazipur to Bhagalpur – via Bengla Desh to Dhubri (Assam) – Kamrup (Assam) – via Guahati to Shillong – Sylhet – Imphal (Manipur) – Mandalay (Mayanmar) – Chittagong – Agartala - Dhaka – Jashore – Kolkata – via Cuttack to Jagannath Puri in Orissa - Bilaspur – Jabalpur – Gwalior – Mathura – Sirsa – Bathinda – Sultanpur Lodhi.
Details:- Starting from Sultanpur Lodhi first of all Guruji came to Syedpura. There Guruji made Lalo his disciple. He also refused to accept food from Malik Bhago because he had earned his livelihood throughout corruption and cheating. From Syedpura Guruji reached Tulumba (now called Makhdoompur). Guruji met a cheater named Sajjan. He called himself a saint but acted like a cheater. Sajjan was so impressed by the Bani and the personality of Guruji that he left cheating for ever. He became a follower of Guruji. Thus Sajjan’s “dera (fyrw)” became a place of worship (Dharamsala).
From Tulumba Guruji reached Kurukshetra. Many people had gathered there because of the Solar eclipse. Guruji preached the people gathered at Kurukshetra not to believe in the superstitions of solar and lunar eclipses. Guruji asked them to worship God and do good deeds. which is the real dharma.
From Kurukshetra, Guruji reached Delhi via Panipat. Guruji came to Haridwar from Delhi. Here Guruji saw people throwing water for their ancestors facing the sun early morning. Guruji started throwing water in the opposite direction to remove the superstitions of the people. When people asked Guruji as to what he was doing, Guruji said that he was irrigating the fields in Punjab. When people made fun of him, Guruji told them that when his water could not reach a few miles away then how could their water reach their ancestors, crores (tens of millions) of miles away. Many people present there were impressed by Guruji.
After Haridwar, Guruji reached Gorakhmata (now called Nanakmata) via Kedarnath, Badrinath, and Joshimath. He met the followers of Gorakhnath there. Guruji taught them that one can not achieve salvation by wearing rings in ears, applying ash on the body, holding a stick in hand, shaving one's head and renouncing the world. The Yogis were impressed by Guruji's teachings and the name of Gorakhmata became Nanakmata.
From Gorakhmata Guruji came to Benaras. He met Pandit Chaturdas there who was also impressed by Guruji, teachings. Chaturdas and his followers too, became Guruji’s followers. From Benaras, Guruji reached Gaya, a famous Buddhist pilgrimage. Here he made many followers. From Gaya he went to Patna and Hazipur and influenced people by his thoughts. Guru Nanak Dev Ji reached Assam via Bengal and Bihar. At Dhubri Guruji met Shanker Dev.
At Kamrup (Assam) Guruji taught a witch named Nurshah that true beauty lies in high character. Guruji reached Sylhet via Guahati and Shillong. Guruji met Saini Sheikh Jalal there who was also impressed by the teachings of Guruji. From Sylhet Guruji reached Dhaka via Mandalay (Mayanmar) & Chittagong. There Guruji met the leaders of different religions. From Dhaka Guruji reached Jagannath Puri in Orissa via Cuttack. In Puri temple, Guruji saw that many people were worshipping idols and performing god Vishnu’s Arti. Guruji told people that idol worship is useless. God is Omnipresent. The nature always perform Arti for the Omnipresent God. Going through Bilaspur, Gwalior, Mathura, Sirsa & Bathinda Guruji reached Sultanpur.
2. The Second Udasi : (1506–1509) The Second Udasi of Guru Nanak Sahib began approximately in 1506. Guruji visited the western and the southern areas of India. During this Udasi Guruji visited the following places:
Sultanpur Lodhi – Bikaner – Ajmer – Chittorgarh – Ujjain – Bhopal – Omkareshwar – Amravati – Aurangabad – Nanded – Nizamabad – Tirupati – Chennai – Perambalur – Madurai – Trincomalee – via Batticaloa to Colombo – Tiravandrum (Thiruvananthapuram) – Palakkad – Bengaluru – Shivamogga – Goa – Mumbai – Nashik – Surat – Vadodara – Porbandar – Dwarka – Patan – Barmer – Jaisalmer – Bahawalpur – Depalpur – Sultanpur Lodhi.
Details:- From Sultanpur Lodhi Guruji proceeded towards the south visiting Bikaner, Ajmer, Chittorgarh, Ujjain, Bhopal, Omkareshwar, Amravati, Aurangabad, Nanded, Nizamabad, Tirupati, Chennai. Guruji reached Sri Lanka via Perambalur & Madurai. The evidence of Gurujis visits to these places
found in the Jaffna area of Lanka. The King of Lanka Shivnabh or Shivnath was greatly impressed by Guruji’s personality. He became a follower of Gurji. The queen of Lanka and many other people also became his followers. There he appointed one of his followers named Jhanda Baadhi to promulgate the name of God.
3. The Third Udasi : (1514–1516) After spending some time with his family, Guru Nanak Dev Ji started his Third (travel) in 1514. This time Guruji went towards North and North-East. In this travel Guruji was accompanied by a blacksmith Hasu and a Chhimba named Siha. During this travel Guruji went to the following places:
Sultanpur Lodhi – via Jalandhar to Hoshiarpur – via Bilaspur, Mandi, Suketi, Rawalsar & Kangra to Kulu (all in Himachal Pardesh) – via Spiti & Sumeru Parbat to Lake Manasarovar – via Mount Kailash to Kathmandu (Nepal) – via Sikkim, Thimpu (Bhutan) to Tawang – Leh – Kargil – via Amarnath Cave to Srinagar – via Baramullah, Pahalgam and Mattan to Anantnag – Poonch – Hasan Abdal – Rawalpindi – Sialkot – Sultanpur Lodhi.
Details:- Passing through the regions of Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur Guruji entered the present Himachal Pardesh. First of all he met Pir Buddan Shah who became a follower of Guruji. Guruji visited places like Bilaspur, Mandi, Suket, Rawalsar, jawalaji, Kangra, Kulu and Spiti. People from different communities became his followers.
After crossing the Spiti valley Guru Nanak Ji entered Tibet. From here he reached the Mansarovar Lake and the Kailash mountain where Guruji met many Siddh yogis. Guruji told them that, instead of sitting on hills they should go to the plains and enlighten people lost in the darkness of ignorance. After visiting Kailash mountain Guruji came to Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh) via Kathmandu (Nepal), Sikkim, Thimpu (Bhutan) and then back to Ladakh. Even now, Guruji has many followers there who have built a Gurudwara in Guruji’s memory.
Guruji reached the Amarnath Cave in Kashmir via Sakardu and Kargil. Later Guruji visited Srinagar Baramullah, Pahalgam and Mattan. At Mattan he met a Pandit Brahmdas who was famous for his knowledge of the Vedas and the Shashtras. Guruji taught him that by reading Scriptures only, salvation can not be attained. Later Guruji visited Anantnag, Poonch and Hasan Abdal situated to north west of Rawalpindi. An arrogant Muslim Fakir Vali Kandhari tried to kill him by throwing a stone from the hill. But Guruji stopped the stone with his hand. At present a beautiful Gurudwara named ‘Panja Sahib’ stands there. After crossing the rivers Jhelum and Chenab from Rawalpindi, Guru Nanak Dev Ji reached Sialkot. He impressed his followers by his teachings. From Sialkot he went to Sultanpur Lodhi.
4. The Fourth Udasi : (1517–1521) Guruji began his Fourth Udasi (travel) in 1517. This time he wore a blue dress like a Muslim Haji. During this Udasi, he visited western Asia. Mardana also accompanied him.
Sultanpur Lodhi – Pakapattan – Multan – Uch – via Miyani to Sukkur – Hinglaj (Mataji Mandir) – Aden – Sanaa – Mecca – Medina – Baghdad – Iran – Kandahar – Kabul – Peshawar – Hassan Abdal – Gujarat – via Saiyidpura to Sultanpur Lodhi. After this he settled in Kartarpur in 1522.
Details:- Guruji began this Udasi from Pakapattan. He met Sheikh Braham or Sheikh Ibrahim the 10th successor of Sheikh Farid at Pakpattan. The Sufi Saint was Impressed by the thoughts of Guruji.
After meeting Sheikh Braham he reached Multan. Here he met a famous Sufi Saint Sheikh Bahaudin who was greatly impressed by Guruji’s thoughts.
Guruji reached Mecca (birth place of Hazrat Mohammad) by the sea all the while preaching on way to Mecca via Multan, Uch, Miyani, Shukar, Hinglaz Aden and Sanaa. At Mecca he slept with his feet towards the Kaaba. Qazi Rukun-ud-Din objected to it. Guruji told the Qazi politely. You may turn my feet towards that direction where Allah is not present. On hearing Guruji’s words, the Qazi was enlightened and he realised that Allah is there not only in Mecca but he is Omnipresent.
Guruji reached Medina from Mecca. A tomb of Hazrat Mohammed has been built here. Guruji exchanged views on religious matters with Imam Azim Khan. A lot many people were impressed by Guruji. Guruji reached Baghdad after completing the journey of Medina. There he met Sheikh Behlol. Influenced by his Bani he became his follower. Words in Persian language inscribed on the tomb of sheikh Behlol, situated 2 Kms away from the city is a proof of Guruji’s visit to Baghdad.
From Baghdad Guruji reached Kabul via Iran and Kandhar. Babur, a Mughal empror was the ruler of Kabul at that time. Guruji promuglated his teachings at Kabul. Many people were impressed by Guruji. After crossing the Khyber pass Guruji reached Saiyidpura passing through Peshawar, Hasan Abdal and Gujarat. At that time Babur had invaded Saiyidpura. During this invasion Babur committed many atrocities on the people and imprisoned many of them. Guruji was one of those prisoners. When Babur came to know about it, he himself came to meet Guruji. He was greatly influenced by the personality of Guruji. He released Guruji and other prisoners along with him. Guru Nanak Dev Ji has severely criticized the invasion of Babur in Babarbani.
In 1521 Guru Nanak Dev Ji completed his last Udasi (travel). In 1522, Guru Nanak Dev Ji built a community on the banks of River Ravi at Kartarpur (now in Pakistan). Guruji settled down at Kartarpur with his family as an ideal family man and a farmer . Later in 1523–1524, Guruji toured places within Punjab around Kartarpur only. Guruji spent last eighteen years of his life in Kartarpur. Till his last Breath he stayed there. During this period, Guruji gave his teachings a definite shape. Guruji wrote Banis like Var Malhar, Var-Majh, Var Asa, Japuji Sahib, Onkar, Patti, Thit and Bara Mah etc. at Kartarpur.
Guruji passed away (joqI joq smwey) in 1539 at the age of 70. Guruji’s ashes were moved to Dera Baba Nanak after heavy floods caused damage to his final resting spot in Kartarpur.
During his travels, he was observing and noticing the ills of the society. Wherever he settled down for rest, he would write down what he observed in poetry form. He would then ask Bhai Mardana to start playing on his Rebab and he would tune in with the Almighty and would start singing. People would join in to sing along. He always kept a copy of all such writings in his note book, which was known as Pothi. Guru Nanak Dev ji was also a perfect musician. He with the company of Bhai Mardana, composed such tunes in 19 Indian classical Raagaas.
During these tours, Guru NanakDev ji also collected the divine writings of many God conscious people, such as Namdev, Kabir, RamaNand, Trilochan, Ravidas, Jai Dev, Dhanna, Farid, Sain, Sadhna, etc. They belonged to different castes different faiths while some belonged even to the so-called low caste and some to the high Hindu caste.
Guru Nanak Dev ji emphasised the life of a householder (Grihsti) while remaining unattached to gross materialism. He asked everyone to be honest, truthful and loving. He preached and practiced honest labour for living, sharing with others in service to humanity and remembering and living by the attributes of God and in the services of mankind, such as, Seva (Service), Keertan (singing praises of God), Satsang (congregation of true followers of God) and faith in ‘One’ Omnipotent God.
In later years of his life at Kartarpur, Daily Keertan was recited and doctrines of Sikhism were talked about at this place. The institution of Langar, “free kitchen” was introduced by Guru Nanak.
Knowing that the end was drawing near, Guru Nanak Dev ji, after testing his two sons and some of his followers, installed Bhai Lehna ji as the Second Nanak in 1539 and named him Guru Angad Dev Ji. In the presence of congregation, Guru Nanak Dev ji bowed before Bhai Lehna and gave him the book, which was usually called “Pothi”, which included all his revelations and the Gurbani that he had written and also that he had collected from Saints and Sages called Bhagats.